This is CircuitPython 5.3.0, the first 5.3.x stable release. This release adds support for 3 new boards, and the RGBMatrix driver for RGB LED matrices. See below for a more detailed list.

Download from circuitpython.orgDownloads are available from circuitpython.org! The site makes it easy to select the correct file and language for your board. The downloads page is here. Downloads are no longer available from the GitHub release pages because of the large number of files for each release.

5.0.0 improves our internal filesystem definitions and may overwrite your existing files so make sure to back them up before updating!

The bleio module has been renamed to _bleio to indicate that it is meant to be used only for writing BLE libraries, and that its API may change between CircuitPython minor versions. There are many incompatible changes in _bleio since 4.0.0. Please use the latest adafruit_ble library for end-user BLE programming.

The displayio refresh API has been revamped to be simpler. wait_for_frame and refresh_soon have been removed. In both 4.x and 5.x, auto refresh will automatically refresh the display so they can be removed. The new auto_refresh property and refresh() function can be used to control when the screen refreshes and at a specific rate.

Moved audioio.Mixer to audiomixer.Mixer, which is only available on M4 microcontrollers. Moved audioio.RawSample, and audioio.WaveFile to the new module audiocore. However, for backwards compatibility, they are still available in audioio. They will be removed from audioio in 6.0.0. Thanks @jepler.

Added I2C.writeto_then_readfrom(). Deprecate stop= arg which will be removed in 6.x. Use I2C.writeto_then_readfrom() instead.

Removed re from Circuit Playground Express Display build.

Removed gamepad from Circuit Playground Express Crickit build.

Known Issues

displayio operations that read from an SD card (e.g., OnDiskBitmap) will interfere with other SD card operations and can cause lockup. To work around this problem, do not read or write files on the SD while the display is updating, and vice versa.

ThanksThank you to all who used, tested, contributed, helped out, and participated on GitHub and/or Discord, including @caternuson, @deshipu, @dhalbert, @heirophect, @jepler, @tannewt, @xobs, @k0d, @v923z, @larsks, @sabas1080, and surely more we have missed. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.